The Russian T-26 tank was the mainstay of Soviet light armoured forces through much of the 1930s. It bore a close resemblance to the Vickers Armstrong 6 ton tank on which it was modelled. Having purchased a number of light tank examples from Britain, the Russians were to manufacture many thousands of T-26 tank models with as many as 54 different turret variants being produced as prototypes or service vehicles. These included a wide range of sub-variants that utilised different calibre guns, flamethrowers and artillery pieces, newly armoured turrets and in one case a pair of machine gun turrets. The T-26 was highly successful in the early 1930s. In fact, fascist German and Nationalist Spanish forces offered a reward for the capture of T-26 tanks during the Spanish Civil war due to its effectiveness against Italian tankettes and the German Panzer I. However, by the time of operation Barbarossa, while many thousands of T-26 tanks were still available to Soviet forces, their effectiveness against Hitler's Panzers was greatly diminished due to the T-26's inadequate main armour and armament when confronted by the Panzer III and Panzer IV with their superior 5cm and 7.5 cm main armament and heavier armour.
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